Yoweri Museveni seems to get it in war on terrorism

The relative ease with which Al-Shabaab has planned and executed its attacks in Kenya recently, the limp security response and the heavy death toll have given the Somalia-based militants an air of invincibility.

So, many Kenyans will understandably find Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni’s declaration that the “terrorist group has been defeated” in a lengthy article published in Kampala’s New Vision and widely circulated on the social media last week a little crazy.

Tell that to any one of the families of Garissa University College students who on April 2 endured the horror of hearing their children shot dead after waiting for eternity for security rescue that never arrived, and they’ll probably think you are from Mars.

But there is a method to Mr Museveni’s madness. M7, as they fondly refer to him over there, is the only one among the leaders of the East African nations who seems to have a clear understanding of the magnitude of the threat jihadist terrorism poses to the region now and in the future.

And, he is also putting forward a fairly practical way to deal with the threat in the context of an African country lacking the sophistication of the West’s intelligence and policing systems.

LIKELY TO CHANGE

One might find fault with Mr Museveni’s idea of re-activating Povo Amarda — the strategy of arming the population used to good effect by the Mozambican Frelimo freedom fighters — citing the potential impact on crime against the background of mass unemployment.

The wisdom of deploying big armies in any form and shape against a terrorist entity which doesn’t engage in a conventional war is debatable as well. But as long as the ultimate goal of jihadist terrorism remains the establishment of an Islamic caliphate extending to the region, the game is likely to change five years from now.

The experience with the incursions by the ISIS in North Africa and the Middle East, Boko Haram in West Africa, Al-Qaeda in Yemen and Taliban in Afghanistan suggests that Al-Shabaab will at some stage almost certainly start claiming territories of its own — an eventuality that makes Mr Museveni’s Povo Armada relevant.

If the activist type among us, passionate about Western democratic values, still finds the idea of a militarised society unsettling, Mr Museveni’s attempt to fashion a counter-ideology against jihadist terrorism is worth some serious attention.

Perhaps the weakest link in the battle against terrorism in a country like Kenya has been the inability of leaders to identify some patriotic sentiment around which to rally citizens.

Past efforts to appeal to communities’ patriotic sense have been undermined by partisan politics and ethnic differences, even as Al-Shabaab have intensified their radicalisation campaign based on religious grievances.

Mr Museveni sees the ideological answer to jihadist terrorism as the revival of the pan-Africanist-nationalist spirit, which saw the continent’s people free themselves from the shackles of colonialism.

That has to be as closest an African leader has got to drawing the battle line in the war against terrorism.

Otieno Otieno is chief sub-editor, Business Daily. [email protected]. @otienootieno